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| Edited By: Ankit Ajmera |Source: |Updated: Nov 21, 2013, 01:44 PM IST
Bookaroo, is the country’s first literature festival targetting children exclusively
a_ankit@dnaindia.net
Adults have attended literature festivals in different parts of the country and enjoyed interacting with prolific authors for the longest. The Kitab Festival and the Kala Ghoda Festival are such examples. But why should adults have all the fun? This is the question that organisers of Bookaroo have asked and in response have organised what they plan to be India’s first ever book festival for children running from November 22 to November 23, 2008 in New Delhi.
M Venkatesh, publisher, Heek, a magazine for children, and organiser, says, “Writing children’s fiction is not the same as writing for adults. It requires more imagination and creativity as the author may really have to delve into his mind and become a child to convey his message to children. I frankly haven’t come across a full fledged festival for children where they can get to know the authors better. Moreover there has been a growing interest in reading thanks to proactive parents and focused school activities. The time is right to give children an exclusive platform for their literary needs.”
The purpose of this festival is to expose children to the joys of reading. It will have interactive sessions and discussions with 36 Indian and international authors. Some of the sessions will include Hindi storytelling for the young, poems that will be enacted with children on the stage, writing workshops and drawing workshops where children can create their own comic or fictional character.
On being asked about the probability of conducting the festival in Mumbai, Venkatesh says that they might organise it during the month of February next year. Publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Pratham Books, Scholastic, Tara, Tulika and Young Zubaan are participating and supporting the festival. Some of the authors who will be attending the festival include Jeff Smith, Anushka Ravishankar, Stephen Guy, Ranjit Lal, Wendy Cooling, Paro Anand, Venita Coelho and Tapas Guha.
